Benjamin Isaak – Heat Treat Today 40 Under 40

Name: Benjamin Isaak
Company: Solar Manufacturing
Position: Senior Refractory Engineer
Benjamin Isaak began his time at Solar Manufacturing in 2006, 16 years ago, as a hot zone mechanic. In this position, Ben improved the shop efficiency and safety with custom jigs, better organization, and cleanliness. Additionally, he was responsible for training new hires in all aspects of their positions. From there, he transferred to the hot zone engineering department two years later. Ben researched the acquisition of a commercial laser cutter to improve business output and lower costs. Ben redesigned the hot zone for a top-selling product line and achieved a 30% cost savings.

As the senior refractory engineer, Ben designed the hot zone for Solar's vacuum oil quench furnace and increased standardization throughout product lines to lower costs and increase output. Ben also designed the hot zone for Solar's improved metal injection molding (MIM) vacuum sintering furnace. An MTI YES Management Training Program graduate, Ben has worked on standardization for vacuum furnace hot zones across Solar's product line and worked to create designs for improved thermal efficiency, leading to two U.S. patents. Ben is well-deserving of the Heat Treat Today 40 Under 40 Class of 2022 award and a valuable asset to the metal treating community.

Nominated by: Solar Manufacturing

Name: Rene Cerda
Company: FRISA
Position: Product Development Metallurgist

 

Rene Cerda began his academic career at FIME, UANL Mèxico (Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León) by pursuing mechanical and electrical engineering with a focus in mechanical design. He continued his education by earning a master’s degree in Materials Engineering and later finished with a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering, FEM, and heat treatment and forging.

Rene, leading the industry as a professor and teacher, has been a critical member of engineering projects at SISAMEX — SISTEMAS AUTOMOTRICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V. With over 10 years of experience working with ferrous metallurgy, forging, heat treat, and process development, Rene uses his rich engineering background and practical project management experience as the project development metallurgist at FRISA. He is skilled in Kaizen, 5S, and CQI-9. Additionally, Rene has experience with process simulations using commercial packaging and has implemented a new production line of heat treating under CQI-9 agreements.

Nominated by: Heat Treat Today
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